Rogers is expecting nothing easy at Harps
DUNDALK goalkeeper Gary Rogers is hoping that Friday night’s victory over Drogheda Utd can prove the catalyst for a winning run for his side.
The Lilywhites travel to Ballybofey on Friday night to face a Finn Harps side who they beat 7-0 in the corresponding fixture last season. While it is unlikely to be as easy again against Ollie Horgan’s side this time, Rogers is well aware that if his side can overcome that hurdle then they can look forward to back-to-back home matches against Bray Wanderers and Bohemians before rounding out the first series of games away to bottom club Galway Utd at the end of the month.
While defeats away to Derry City and Cork City last month have left Dundalk playing catch up in the early stages of the season, the 35-year-old has been delighted with the side’s form at home and is hoping they can carry it into all games in the weeks ahead.
‘We’ve played really well at home so far this season and that’s something we can build on and hopefully it will be the cornerstone of our title push this year,’ he said..
‘If we can keep that going we’ll be in a good place. We were always good on the road last year too so if we can get a win against Finn Harps then we can look forward to the two home games after that and try to put a string of wins together.’
While Dundalk’s aggregate score against the Donegal side was 12-0 last season, Rogers insists Harps cannot be taken lightly.
‘It’s a tricky venue to go to up there. It’s always tough,’ he said.
‘We had a big win up there last year but it can go like that, you can have a big win or a very tight game. Cork went up there and only got a 1-0 victory this year so it’s not an easy place to go and we’ll have to approach it with the right attitude and hopefully we can play well.
‘Generally when we play well we win games and if we go and do that hopefully we can get the right result.’
The Meathman feels that Dundalk can take confidence from their Louth derby success on Friday.
‘It’s an important win,’ he told The Argus.
‘When you get beat like we did last week it’s always important to bounce back and get three points.
‘We looked good and played quite well early on. We got a couple of goals and maybe could have had a couple more but it just wouldn’t come for us but we finally got the third goal which really sealed it for us.
‘There were a lot of changes but you see the value of the squad because all the players have played and everyone played really well and showed the quality that they have,’ he said.